Kazzer

Kazzer
Origin	Binbrook, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Rap Rock, Alternative Rock
Occupations	Rapper, Singer, Song-writer

Mark Kasprzyk (born 1977) better known by his stage name, Kazzer, is a Canadian musician whose work ranges from Rap Rock to Alternative Rock. He is best known for the song "Pedal to the Metal", which was aired regularly on MuchMusic and MTV Europe, played on contemporary hit radio, hot adult contemporary, alternative rock and mainstream rock radio stations in Canada. He is also an auto sports television personality.^[1]

History

He grew up in Binbrook, Ontario, near Hamilton and at the age of 8, he began learning judo, becoming so skilled that he later became part of the Canadian National Judo Team and was an alternate for the Canadian team in the 2000 Summer Olympics.^[2] At 16, he began writing songs. Being relegated to alternate status for the Olympics inspired him to pursue a career in music and in his teens he discovered hip-hop and took up breakdancing.^[2] Around this time, Mark produced a demo which made it into the hands of Epic Records (a subsidiary of Sony BMG).^[3]

Music career

Under his stage name Kazzer, Kasprzyk was signed and released his 2002 debut album Go for Broke in Canada, Germany, France and Scandinavia. The energetic lead single, "Pedal to the Medal", was co-written with Brian West, Grammy-nominated producer for the likes of Nelly Furtado. The song was featured on the soundtracks of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job,^[2] the 2004 film Catch That Kid on the television series Malcolm in the Middle, and in the Hotwheels Acceleracers movies. It was also featured in the opening "splash" animation and on the soundtrack of the Midway Sports video game NHL HITZ PRO. Additionally, his song "Fueled By Adrenaline" was featured on the two Bugbear games, FlatOut:Head On and Flatout Ultimate Carnage.

Kazzer was nominated for a New Artist of the Year at the 2004 Juno Awards.^[4] He has toured Canada repeatedly including a 2003 MTV Campus Invasion tour which on some dates he headlined and on others opened for Gob. He has performed at concerts and festivals in Europe, and opened for The Roots in Chicago, and for a New York Jets game.

Go for Broke sold 25,000 copies worldwide in 2003. Epic Records went through an executive change and Kazzer found himself without representatiion, and he moved to Linus Entertainment, a leading Canadian independent record label distributed by Universal Records.

Kazzer's second record Broke was recorded at EMAC Recording Studios and released on June 28, 2005, featuring the lead single "Ordinary".

There were plans for a third Kazzer release, expected in 2008/2009, but it never came to fruition. Mark has since formed a new project called Redlight King who are currently signed to Hollywood Records.^[5] Kasprzyk made news in 2011 for his success in securing permission from Neil Young to allow him to sample Young's 1972 song, "Old Man". The sample is included in the song "Old Man" (originally titled "Hardworking Hands") on his third album "Something for the Pain", released in 2011.^[6]

Other media

He has appeared in film and television, including a cameo appearance as a redneck in the 2004 MuchMusic comedy road movie Going the Distance. He was also one of many collaborators on Sports Car Revolution, aired on the U.S.-based specialty television channel Speed Channel in 2005 and 2006. He has owned a 1962 Ford Thunderbird, a 1949 Mercury and a 1930 Ford Model A.

Discography

• Go for Broke (2002) Epic Records

Singles:"Pedal To The Medal"

• Broke (2005) Linus Entertainment

Singles:"Ordinary"

• Something For The Pain (2011) Hollywood Records

Singles:"Old Man"

References

1. ^ Ross, Mike (2003) "Yo, it's judo rapper", Canoe.ca, retrieved 2010-01-21
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Kazzer to rock London at 'House Party' event", London Free Press, June 14, 2003, retrieved 2010-01-21
3. ^ "Rock in self defence; Hamilton-area judo expert Mark Kasprzyk, (Kazzer) is rising fast on the hip-hop scene", The Record, April 22, 2003
4. ^ Rockingham, Graham (2004) "Hamilton all but shut out at Junos", The Hamilton Spectator, April 5, 2004
5. ^ Redlight King
6. ^ Project Rhythm Seed, "Redlight King Samples “Old Man” And Neil Approves…Gasp", April 12, 2011, Accessed July 9, 2011.

External links

• Kazzer artist page, Linus Entertainment
• Kazzer artist page, MuchMusic
• "Tuning Canada", Speed Channel article on channel personalities from Canada
• Stylordz Hip-hop Network
• Kazzer on cdbaby
• Music Video for "Ordinary" on YouTube

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Date of birth	1977
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